


By His Side

by GoDownWithThisShip



Series: homo on the range [2]
Category: Red Dead Redemption
Genre: Bath Sex, Bathtub Sex, Comfort, Comfort No Hurt, Cuddling & Snuggling, Hand Jobs, Huddling For Warmth, Kissing, M/M, One Shot Collection, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, if i wanted sad gay cowboys i'd go watch brokeback mountain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-21 23:45:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16586597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoDownWithThisShip/pseuds/GoDownWithThisShip
Summary: It's just Arthur missing his bf and reminiscing about all the good times they have had. As the tags say this is a fic meant to be so sweet it's gonna rot ya teeth!





	By His Side

There is nobody he would rather be beside when bullets are flying, splintered wood and broken glass in their wake. And there is nobody he would rather be beside on muggy summer nights when the crickets are singing and the fireflies dance above the grass. Charles has only been riding with the gang for a few months but it feels as though Arthur has known the man for years. As he flips through his journal he is reminded of all the memories he shared with the man.

  
  


* * *

  
  


There was that time when they were supposed to be scouting for a new camp in this nasty bit of land up north. The air was sharp, frozen pinpricks against Arthur’s cheeks as the two rode along a narrow trail. He hadn’t been nervous until the breeze began picking up something fierce and flurries were beginning to form in the frigid air. “There’s a storm rolling in.” Charles’ voice was almost lost in the wind at this point. “We need to find shelter.”

 

And they did find shelter. It was a cave, thankfully empty but still wet and jagged. They were able to get a fire going which helped marginally but it felt like the cold had made a home in Arthur’s bones. Charles must have picked up on him shivering, hell Arthur could see the tremble in Charles’ own hand as he stoked the fire. “Y’know, it helps to get in close. Sharing body heat and all that.”

 

Arthur let out a breath that he could see hanging in the air. “Yeah. Not really one for cuddling, though.” He was only half joking.

 

“It could mean the difference between us freezing to death and us actually making it out of here in the morning,” Charles pointed out before adding. “I won’t tell anyone back at camp. Wouldn’t want to ruin your brooding, aloof image.”

 

Arthur sighed. “If anyone gives me shit about it, they’ll be losing their teeth.”

 

It was a little awkward getting there, sure. They had to strip out of their damp clothes. And then they had to arrange the blankets. There was a lot of positioning and repositioning involved. Finally, when they were all settled, Arthur found himself on his side with Charles at his back. The two were barely touching but he still found himself feeling a little dizzy. For those moments everything was warm and Arthur didn’t even think about the storm raging around them.

 

* * *

  
  


The first time they kissed had been clumsy and more than a little booze fueled. Arthur can’t even remember the second or third kiss they had shared. But one kiss stands out. Arthur was sunburned practically from his scalp to his toes. He had aches in muscles he didn’t even know existed. He was tired from riding through the night trying to track down the gang after his brief  _ vacation  _ to the caribbean. Or..wherever the hell it was. 

 

As he approached the shabby structures sticking out of the swamp like a broken bone he felt as though he were ready to collapse. But somehow, as luck would have it, the very first face he saw was the face he had missed the most. Charles was standing guard and he probably couldn’t recognize Arthur at first on account of the blistering red face and the scraggly beard. But Arthur recognized him instantly. Charles had grown his hair out, the sides were cut crisp and short. But Arthur knew those strong features and soft, chestnut eyes anywhere. He all but collapsed off his horse and stumbled over to the man. Within seconds his arms were wrapped around Charles’ shoulders and Charles’ own arms were wound tight against his waist. 

 

They had always been discreet, mostly because the camp was chock full of gossips. But this was the first time that they had kissed out in the open without a care. For what seemed like forever it was just the warm press of lips and the smallest hint of teeth. Charles was so familiar...he was like a home. God, Arthur had missed him so much it hurt.

 

“I thought you had died.” Charles’ voice was raw, full of a pain that hadn’t quite healed. He pulled back just enough to speak and pressed their foreheads together.

 

“I thought  _ you  _ had died,” Arthur replied. His hands found Charles’ face and his thumbs washed over Charles’ cheeks as he cupped his jaw. “The last I saw of you-”

 

“If you think a couple of Pinkertons were going to bring me down you really don’t know me at all.” Charles let out a little, breathy laugh. “But what about you? Where  _ were  _ you Arthur?”

 

“Who’s that?” There were voices now from the shacks behind them. 

 

“I’ll tell you all about it,” Arthur promised.

 

* * *

 

But it hadn’t all been doom and gloom. There had been the time where the gang was going through a rough patch. Barely had two coins to scrape together. Arthur and Charles had finished doing odd jobs around a nearby town to bring in some money. They both desperately needed a bath and it had been Arthur’s idea to share. “We should be saving up, after all,” he said with a grin. By this time there was no need to be coy or careful with Charles. They had done just about everything in the book.

 

“I’m pretty sure there’s a one patron per bath rule,” Charles pointed out.

 

“And since when are we concerned about rules?”

 

“Fair enough.”

 

And that’s how they ended up pressed together, skin to skin in a cramped tin tub in the back room of some second-rate establishment. Charles was laid out with his back against the tub and Arthur was settled between his legs with his own back against Charles. “Somehow I thought this was gonna be a lot more fun,” Arthur said. 

 

“It can still be fun,” Charles murmured. One of his hands slid over Arthur’s shoulders. His fingers traced the hard line of Arthur’s collarbone before sliding up to find Arthur’s jaw. Arthur let his head be tilted backward and he found himself looking into Charles’ eyes. 

 

Charles hesitated for a moment but Arthur met him halfway. The press of lips was familiar and yet it still sent a shiver down Arthur’s spine. He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of kissing the guy. He reached back with a hand to tangle his wet fingers in Charles’ dark hair. Charles’ calloused hands were already mapping their way across Arthur’s skin. When his fingers found Arthur’s cock, Arthur moaned against his lips. 

 

It seemed that he always had the most rotten luck because it was at that second that a knock came from the door. “Is everything alright in there?” came a sultry, feminine voice from the other side. 

 

Charles broke the kiss. “Just fine,” he answered. But his hand was still slowly gliding over Arthur’s cock. He ran a thumb just under the head and Arthur had to clap a hand over his own mouth to keep from making a noise. But God, he thought he was going to die there with his own heartbeat thundering in his ears and Charles’ hands on him. 

 

“Need any help?” the woman on the other side of the door asked.

 

“Nope,” Charles replied with a cheeky grin. “I think I got it covered.”

 

Charles was moving faster now his fingers tight and his palm rough and Arthur leaned back into him and let his head fall against Charles’ shoulder. A firm hand still clasped over his own mouth and his free hand gripping the edge of the tub. Water splashed over the sides as he started to buck his hips. 

 

Charles used his free hand to grip Arthur’s hip to stop him from moving. “I think they’re going to notice something’s up when the ceiling downstairs starts leaking bathwater.” His voice was low in Arthur’s ear, his breath hot. 

 

“Christ.” Arthur let his hand fall from his mouth. “You’re killing me.”

 

He didn’t last much longer after that. And when he came it was Charles who had to clamp a hand over his mouth to keep him from making too much noise.

 

* * *

 

Arthur closes the worn leather journal and tucks it into his shoulder pouch. He is alone. It’s just him, his trusted steed, and the open plains he had set up camp at. It is times like these when the weary weight of loneliness sets in and he realizes that he could really use someone by his side. And there is nobody he would rather have there with him than Charles.


End file.
